17.45: The FTSE 100 closed down 19.62 points at 6769.07 although gold, oil and copper prices have stabilised somewhat today.

The Dow Jones in the US has plunged in early trading after disappointing earnings reports from IBM and United Technologies. Wall Street investors are also looking ahead to updates from Apple and Microsoft after the closing bell.

'Those looking for market moving news were bitterly disappointed this afternoon, as the global indices slid into the red due to the simple fact that there was no real reason not to,' said Connor Campbell, of Spreadex.

Market watch: Dow Jones in the US plunged in early trading after disappointing earnings reports from IBM and United Technologies

'A slight improvement in Brent crude and the maintenance of mild growth in copper wasn’t enough to push the FTSE into the green this afternoon.

'The US markets were similarly shoddy this afternoon despite some giveback from the dollar. This did, however, leave earnings season firmly in focus as investors sought out any morsel of news they could.

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'However this was mere foreplay for the post-close main event, with Microsoft, Yahoo, GoPro and Chipotle all vying for investors’ attentions.

'Yet, of course, the main focus isn’t these on these companies, but Apple; the super-stock has beaten estimates in 19 of the past 22 quarters, and could boost the markets as a whole tomorrow, like Google and Netflix did last week, if it can manage that feat once again.'

Chris Beauchamp, of IG, said: 'Markets have stumbled this afternoon, as investors run out of exciting news to drive indices higher.

'Bigger worries than Greece now concern investors, mainly the US dollar and the next move in gold. The precious metal has managed to rally off multi-year lows, but this is likely to be only a short breathing space before a fresh move lower.

'Faced with the prospect of rising US yields [interest rates on government debt] and an eventual rise in US rates, plus a global economy that resolutely refuses to keel over in the similar fashion to 2008, gold looks increasingly likely to take a smaller and smaller part in investor portfolios.

'US stocks have seen some selling this afternoon, although the Nasdaq remains fairly resilient ahead of Apple earnings tonight. Those investors with Dow trackers will be cursing the index’s market-cap weighting system, as falls in heavyweight stocks IBM and United Technologies drag the overall average firmly lower.

'Another blowout quarter from Apple would be just the ticket to reinvigorate the faded rally in US indices, even if it proves to be a quick bounce before renewed Fed rate speculation gets underway.'

Insurers led the way on the London market today as a report from AA Insurance found car premiums were pushing sharply upwards.

Admiral led the risers' board, adding 4 per cent or 65p to 1518p. RSA climbed 9.3p to 440.2p.

Stock watch: Investors are looking ahead to an Apple earnings update after the closing bell on Wall Street

There were also gains for miners hit by the "flash crash" in the gold price at the start of the week, Mexico's Fresnillo added nearly 4 per cent or 23p to 652p, while Randgold Resources climbed 76p to 3893p.

Royal Mail shares drifted lower after it revealed that it failed to grow sales in the first three months of its financial year amid 'challenging' trading which saw letter revenues continue to fall. Shares slipped 1.5p to 510p.

In the FTSE 250, online white goods retailer AO World rose 3 per cent after first quarter figures showed UK revenues up 6.5 per cent. It came as a relief to shareholders after a profit warning in February. The stock added 3.8p to 123.5p.

The pound was little changed against the US dollar at just over $1.55 while it dropped a cent against the euro to a little above €1.42, after its ascent to a near eight-year high against the single currency last week.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Admiral, up 65p to 1518p, Fresnillo up 23p to 652p, RSA Insurance up 9.3p to 440.2p and Randgold Resources up 76p to 3893p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were easyJet down 55p to 1666p, Barratt Developments down 16p to 625.5p, Ashtead down 25p to 1043p and Hikma Pharmaceuticals down 49p to 2092p.

17.01: The FTSE 100 closed down 19.62 points at 6769.07. More to come.

15.00: The Footsie stayed weak to flat in late afternoon trade as commodities remained cautious and US stocks made a mixed start ahead of a batch of big corporate reports, with earnings from tech giants Apple and Microsoft due after the Wall Street close tonight.

With an hour and a half of trading to go in London, the FTSE 100 index was down 5.3 points at 6,783.4, holding off the session lows of 6,767.67, having reversed from a peak of 6,800.13.

Heavyweight commodities issues continued to be a drag hit by a strong dollar on expectations for a US rate hike later this year, although precious metal miners rallied after recent sharp falls as the gold price steadied after hitting five year lows on Monday.

European markets were worse off, with the Dax 30 index in Frankfurt down 0.9 per cent and Paris’s CAC 40 index off 0.4 per cent as markets consolidated a recent relief rally, which has been spurred the calm in Greece’s bailout saga.

In early trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 137.4 points at 17,963.0, while the broader S&P 500 index shed 2.4 points at 2,125.9, but the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite added 2.2 points at 5,221.0, having hit another all-time closing high yesterday.

In the absence of any important US economic data, investors were mulling over a big batch of corporate earnings, with IBM and United Technologies big fallers after their numbers, already released, disappointed.

Investors were also looking ahead to Apple’s third-quarter earnings report, due after the US closing bell.

Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets said: ‘The Apple Watch presents a bit more of an unknown for this quarter but sales would probably need to be really disappointing to outweigh the current trend of massive iPhone sales.

‘Even if the Watch is not a long term success, there should be enough die-hard Apple fans to generate some impressive initial numbers.’

13.00: The Footsie was essentially flat in lunchtime trading, just a touch weaker having clawed back early session losses with precious metal miners rallying as gold prices steadied after hitting five year lows on Monday, although other commodity issues stayed weak.

By mid session, the FTSE 100 index was 2.5 points lower at 6,786.2, with European markets also flat to lower, with the Dax 30 index in Frankfurt down 0.2 per cent and Paris’s CAC 40 index off 0.1 per cent.

Miners that were hit in the gold sell-off bounced back as the price of the precious metal regained some of the ground lost in yesterday's rout, when it plunged to below $1,100 (£706) an ounce for the first time since March 2010.

Low energy: Oil majors were hit as the price of crude remained under pressure amid concerns over a global oil glut and stronger US dollar, with Brent Crude heading back towards $56.50 a barrel

Gold prices were driven lower in the previous session by speculation over a US rate hike and unusually aggressive selling in China, but rallied slightly today to $1,107.71 (£713) an ounce.

But other miners were more mixed as metal prices still remained subdued, with Anglo American off 11.0p at 856.3p and Rio Tinto down 8p at 2.583p

And oil majors were hit as the price of crude remained under pressure amid concerns over a global oil glut and stronger US dollar, with Brent Crude heading back towards $56.50 a barrel. BP dropped 4.1p to 412.6p and Royal Dutch Shell fell 1.5p to 1,836.5p.

Away from commodities, motor insurance specialist Admiral was the top FTSE 100 gainer, jumping nearly 5 per cent or 71p to 1,.524p, while rival Direct Line added 5.4p at 362.1p, and RSA Insurance gained 7.1p at 438p.

The sector was higher after a closely watched AA index showed that British car insurance premiums jumped more than 5 per cent in the second quarter compared with the previous three months.

Peroni brewer SABMIller was also in demand, up 35p at 3,530p after broker Nomura upgraded its rating to buy from neutral ahead of a trading update due on Thursday.

But discount airline easyJet was the biggest blue chip, faller, down 2.0 per cent or 38p to 1,683p ahead of a trading update due tomorrow after German broker Commerzbank cut its price target to 1,550p from 1,700p.

Centrica was also a blue chips casualty, down 5.1p to 277.9p, with traders citing an unplanned outage at its North Morecambe gas sub-terminal.

In the FTSE 250, Imperial Leather soap maker PZ Cussons was a faller, down 3.7p to 356.4p after its full-year results revealed profits down by nearly a third to £84million impacted by the weak oil price, currency factors, and troubles in Nigeria.

Around 40 per cent of PZ Cussons’s sales come from Africa and Nigeria is its biggest market in the continent.

10.15: The Footsie was just modestly weaker as the morning session progressed, easing off early lows as most commodity stocks recovered slightly led by precious metal miners as gold prices steadied after hitting five-year lows yesterday.

By mid morning, the FTSE 100 index was down 2.2 points, or 0.1 per cent lower at 6,786.5, well above the session low of 6,767.8. European markets were down a similar amount, with both the Dax 30 index in Frankfurt and Paris’s CAC 40 index off around 0.1 per cent.

Gold prices fell below $1,100 (£706) an ounce yesterday for the first time since March 2010, driven lower by speculation about a US rate hike which has boosted the dollar – making commodities more expensive to buy - and aggressive selling on Chinese markets.

Off lows: The FTSE 100 index recovered from early lows thanks to a rally by precious metal miners

But with the dollar slightly easier on currency markets today, the price of gold was steadier, holding back above $1.100 an ounce. Against the euro, the dollar drifted back to $1.0851, while versus the pound it slipped to $1.581.

Sterling was also higher against the euro at €1.4349, supported by prospects that a UK rate hike could also be likely in the New Year, with traders eyeing tomorrow’s minutes from the Bank of England’s July Monetary Policy Committee meeting for fresh clues as inflation remains subdued while wages are pushing higher.

Today’s only data of interest saw the UK government’s borrowing in June fall by less than expected, although it was its lowest for that month in seven years in the latest sign that a turnaround in the country's economy is helping the public finances.

Britain's headline public borrowing fell to £9.4billion in June from £10.2billion pounds a year earlier, compared with economists' forecasts for an £8.5billion, the Office for National Statistics said.

For the first three months of the 2015/16 tax year, public sector net borrowing was £25.1billion, down nearly 20 per cent compared with the April-June period of last year and its lowest for the same period since the 2008/09 financial year.

The ONS said that income tax receipts in June rose by £0.3billion pounds to £11.5billion, the highest level since records began in 1997. Corporation tax was up nearly 14 percent at 1.7 billion pounds, also the highest amount on record.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global said: ‘The public finances improved in each of the first six months of calendar 2015, partly because they are now benefiting from markedly improved income tax receipts after these disappointed for an extended period.

‘This is a consequence of earnings growth trending up from the lows seen in the second quarter of 2014 as well as increased employment.’

But Royal Mail shares drifted lower, down 3p to 508.5p, after it delivered flat revenues in the first three months of the year as ‘challenging’ trading saw letter revenues fall and parcel sales rise.

The group said letter volumes were down 5 per cent and sales down 4 per cent in the quarter to June 28, compared with a year ago, in a tough environment that continues to see email eat into mail deliveries.

But its parcels unit saw volumes lift 3 per cent and sales rise 2 per cent in the period, as cost cutting and other new initiatives introduced in the second half of the year took effect.

On the second line, spread betting firm IG Group was the top FTSE 250 faller, down 6 per cent or 52p to 755p after it reported a hit to full-year earnings from the Swiss franc's fluctuations in January. The group's chief executive Tim Howkins also announced plans to step down after nine years in charge.

But online domestic appliances retailer AO World was the top mid cap performer, leaping 9 per cent or 10.6p higher to 130.3p after reporting a strong start to second quarter trading, reassuring after disappointing with full year results last month.

08.55: The Footsie fell back in early trade today, unable to benefit from modest gains overnight from US and Asian markets on Greek debt crisis relief due to weakness in heavyweight miners as commodity prices remained depressed, although gold rallied slightly.

After around an hour of trading, the FTSE 100 index was down 19.9 points, or 0.3 per cent at 6,768.9, easing back after closing 13.61 points higher yesterday when European markets had benefited from news the IMF and the ECB had received €6.8billion debt repayments from the Greek government and the country's banks had reopened.

The mood was also subdued today in Europe, with Frankfurt’s Dax 30 index and the CAC 40 index in Paris both down around 0.2 per cent.

Rebecca O'Keeffe, Head of Investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor said: ‘Now that the Greek problem has been kicked into the long grass, the key question for investors is whether the recent gains in European equity markets are simply a relief rally - or whether fears over Greece obscured a wider improvement in European economies and there is still significant value to be found?’

She added: ‘As we progress through Q2 earnings, investors from the dollar bloc may begin to see European assets as increasingly attractive. Corporations too may see European companies as potential targets for M&A.

‘So while Greek problems may be far from over, there is scope for European markets to capitalise on the back of lower currency and commodity prices and an increasing interest from a wider global market seeking value.’

Stocks in focus in London include:

ROYAL MAIL – The postal delivery firm has posted flat revenue in its first quarter and said it would continue to focus on cost controls this year as letter volumes fall and competition holds back growth in the parcels market. Shares down 2p at 509.5p.

AO WORLD – The online electrical appliances retailer said revenue growth in its UK business for the 3 months ended June 30 was 6.5 per cent, with orders up 13.9 per cent. Shares leap 9 per cent higher, up 11.0p at 130.7p.

IG GROUP – The financial trading platform said its full-year reported pretax profit fell 13 per cent, dented by the unprecedented surge in the Swiss franc in January when the Swiss National Bank scrapped a cap on the currency. Shares down 4.5 per cent, or 36p at 771p.

CABLE & WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS - The telecoms group active in the Caribbean and Latin America said demand for broadband and video helped it grow in the first quarter, as mobile revenue stalled. Shares slip 0.05p to 69.0p.

PEARSON – The publisher reacted quickly yesterday to try to quash rumours that it was ready to sell the Financial Times. Pearson is ‘exploring a sale’ but there is no formal process, according to Bloomberg, which suggested that Axel Springer, the German publisher, may be interested. Shares up 11p at 1,26p.

REXAM - The European Commission has launched an in-depth competition investigation into the group’s £4.4 billion merger with Ball Corp. intended to create a company controlling about two fifths of the global can-producing market. Shares down 0.5p at 567.0p.

ADMIRAL GROUP – The motor insurer tops the FTSE 100 leader board, up 2 per cent or 28p to 1.481p lifted by news British car insurance premiums jumped by more than 5 per cent in the second quarter compared with the previous three months, according to the AA.

SABMILLER – The blue chip brewer’s shares gain 22p at 3,517p as broker Nomura upgrades its rating to buy from neutral ahead of a trading update due on Thursday.

STANDARD CHARTERED - New York State's banking regulator has intensified an investigation into Promontory Financial Group, a global consulting firm, over its work for Standard Chartered, according to a person familiar with the matter. Shares down 2.5p at 1.024p.

GVC HOLDINGS – The online gambling firm said it is considering its options regarding peer Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, which recently accepted a bid from 888 Holdings. GVC shares up 6p at 415.5p; Bwin shares up 0.2p at 105.9p; 888 shares down 1p at 170p.

CRODA INTERNATIONAL – The specialty chemicals firm said the first half of the year has been encouraging, with the recovery in underlying sales trends that began in the second half of 2014 continuing, as it posted a 7.3 per cent jump in pre-tax profit. Shares up 3.7 per cent, or 103p at 2,898p.

VICTREX – The chemicals firm said it saw solid trading against tough comparatives during the third quarter and announced the acquisition of US polymer gears manufacturer, Kleiss Gears for a cash consideration of around $6million. Shares down 4p at 1,948p.

PETROPAVLOVSK – The Russia-focused gold miner said it is on track to reach its full-year production capacity of 680,000 troy ounces, but added this would not be optimal for cash generation. Shares flat at 6.3p.

07.50: The Footsie is expected to open around 10 points higher today, tracking gains by US and Asian markets amid Greek debt bailout relief, although worries over commodity prices are likely to limit the advance in London given the weighting of miners in the blue chip index.

The FTSE 100 index closed 13.61 points higher yesterday at 6,788.69, rallying after falls in the previous session as European markets benefited from news the IMF and the ECB confirmed receipt of €6.8billion from the Greek government and the country's banks reopened albeit with further capital controls imposed.

Jonathan Sudaria, night dealer at London Capital Group said: ‘Despite the positive start this morning, there’s not a lot of conviction in the move higher.

Lustre back: In Asian trading today, gold took back some of Monday’s sharp falls which saw the price plunge more than 4 per cent to five-year lows, but uncertainties remain over the yellow metal

‘Maybe it’s because we’ve had such a rapid rally since the start of July that the bulls need a breather, or that equities valuations are starting to look a little toppy.

‘Generally, the major indices around the globe are struggling to challenge their recent highs, bar the NASDAQ which has gone off on a parabolic move all on its own.

‘However, more likely is that when you strip out the Greek crisis from markets, we’re in our summer lull waiting for St. Legers day.’

Overnight on Wall Street, the plunge in commodity prices was counterbalanced by stronger than anticipated US corporate earnings which resulted in a flat day for US blue chips, although the tech-laden Nasdaq composite hit fresh highs.

Asian shares also gained today, with stocks in China stocks extending recent gains after sharp falls at the start of this month as government rescue measures appear to have restored some stability.

Meanwhile gold took back some of Monday’s sharp falls which saw the price plunge more than 4 per cent to five-year lows, though uncertainties remain over the path for the yellow metal given the outlook for US interest rate hikes and dollar strength.

Traders have little else to distract them today, with the latest UK public sector finances the only economic data of note.

On the corporate front, Royal Mail will be a focus as the postal firm delivers a trading update showing flat revenue in its first quarter and says it will continue to focus on cost controls as letter volumes fall and competition holds back growth in the parcels market.